Annie
by Daemon Wings
Summary: There was a girl named Annie, she had a very pretty face. SONG-FIC//SAFETYSUIT//ANNIE


**there was a girl named **

**ANNIE..**

_she had a very pretty face_

**A.N.: **_ Hey guys! So, I have A LOT to update, but I've fallen in love with __**X-Men: Evolution **__and especially their portrayal of Nightcrawler. Mmm… Nightcrawler. Haha._

_So! Marvel is not mine. Neither is Disney Channel, or anything they make. Again, this is a FAN fiction. If I owned it, this would be the new episode. Thank you all. Oh, yeah, and I am most definitely NOT the owner of Safetysuit._

_This piece is a one-shot unless proven unprecedentedly popular. Based on Safetysuit's song "Annie". 3_

_Oh, and a quick note to make this a funner story: Count how many times I say __**slight**__ or any form of it._

prologue.

She'd been spotted. She couldn't shake the eerie feeling that someone was watching her, and she _hated_ that feeling. She hated been watched. She hated been seen. She hated what people had to see.

Why would someone be following a small-town girl from Pleasanton, California? What was so wonderful about a 5'2", 106 pound girl? How could her apricot skin and golden freckles catch an eye, how could someone pay attention to cocoa-brown eyes or short blonde hair that sat plain-jane as can be around her small oval face?

She'd tried everything she could think of to lose the feeling, but it kept coming on stronger and stronger. Getting more and more frightened, the small girl snapped. Dropping her school books onto the downtown street, she ran as fast as her legs would take her.

And she ran straight into an elderly man in a wheelchair.

"_Leanna, it's time for you to stop running now."_

verse one.

"There's a new student here at the Institute," Kitty leaned in to tell me. New student? There hadn't been any new enrollments since… I couldn't even remember the last one.

Jean flipped her hair from her face and picked up a muffin from the table. "Kitty, it's not a secret. Professor Xavier is introducing us to her in a few minutes. She won't be going to school with us today, though."

I wondered how she knew so much, but remembered that she, Scott, Storm, and Logan knew everything.

"_Students, if I could see you all in the library, please."_

And there's Professor X's mental beacon…

We all made our way to the library, some hastily, most with food shoved into their mouths. And when I stepped into the library, Professor Xavier was seated in his chair, and next to him was a small girl, the new student.

I stopped flat in my tracks. She was beautiful. Her face alone was stunning. It was so hard to put into words, to explain her. And the fact that the more people who saw her made her more nervous. Her knees began to wobble uncontrollably. I stepped forward, but still couldn't seem to move any further than that.

"Students, I would like to introduce our newest arrival, Miss Leanna DeLuca," Xavier introduced, putting a hand onto the blonde girl's shoulder. "She can manipulate your brain into thinking something happening." She looked more and more worried as more people came into the room. The more attention that was on her, the more terrified she got. She held her hands up in a kind of defense, hiding herself. Finally, her knees buckled, and she fell to the floor.

I couldn't move my legs, but I knew I had to get to her, to help her up. "I…" I started to say, and in a blink I had teleported to her side. "Let me help you up," I choked out. Taking her hands, I pulled her back up to her feet. "H-Hello, Leanna."

She turned away from me once back on her feet. She was shaking. Was she afraid of me? Why? "It's Annie," she corrected me. "Just Annie."

I smiled to her. "Well, hi, Annie. Are you alright?"

Annie turned back towards me, sitting down on the couch. Nodding slowly, she pulled her knees up and hugged them close to her body. She was so scared of this place, these people around her. I couldn't help but wonder if it was because of me.

"_Don't worry, Kurt. She hasn't warmed up to even me yet. Leanna seems to be afraid of most social interaction."_

So it wasn't just me she was afraid of. I felt the slightest bit more at ease. But it was then that Annie did what both the Professor and I both thought impossible. She smiled back to me. "Thank you," she whispered. I would have bet my life that her smile, that quick and shy smile, shined brighter than the lamps that lit the room. "You know I'm Annie. But I don't know who you are."

"I-" I started, but Rouge jumped in, grabbing my arm and starting to pull me out of the library.

"He's Kurt, I'm Rouge, and some of us have school, remember?" Rouge teased. Giving a quick wave to Annie, we left the library. Rouge let go of me as soon as we'd left.

"What's with you and Leanna?" Kitty asked on our way out of the Institute.

"W-What? What do you mean, nothing is going on. I…" Coming up with excuses was as hard as trying to describe Annie.

Giggling, Kitty replied, "I knew it. Nervous, tripping over your own tongue, you like her. Kurt, oh it's so sweet! Kurt and Leanna, oh how cute!"

"Shut up, Kitty! Stop!" I exclaimed. She tried to run off, but I caught her arm. Putting my other hand on her mouth to shut her up, I pleaded again, "Kitty, don't say anything! Please!"

She nodded, so I let her go. "Just explain to me. What made you notice her?"

I laughed. "How could you not?" To that, Kitty tilted her head in confusion. "She's very…" Again with having to describe her. This was starting to rival the difficulty of Logan-sessions.

"Pretty?" Kitty suggested. I nodded. "Maybe, but Leanna… She's not like, stunning-magazine-cover-type beautiful, Kurt."

"I know. She doesn't need to be. She doesn't need to be so fake like the girls in your fashion magazines, Kitty. She just needs to be her." Kitty stayed silent, taking it in. "And her name is Annie."

***

It was odd, watching Annie avoid things. It was a certain talent of hers, being able to walk around a ballet studio and never see her reflection. I would sometimes envy that ability. Perhaps I could use it to avoid knowing that my mother is Mystique.

"Stop watching her. You look like a stalker creep," Kitty whispered in my ear. I jumped slightly, startled. Sticking my tongue out at her, I continued to watch Annie. She'd finally gotten into Bayville High and was now in our gym class.

"I don't think she knows her own hair color, Kitty."

She laughed. "Why do you say that?"

I shrugged slightly. "Have you ever seen her look in a mirror? Even a glance?" Kitty shook her head. "How does she manage that?"

"She's very careful, I guess," Kitty suggested. I nodded in agreement. She had to be.

"She's never looked in a mirror," I muttered. Well, she _was_ always hiding from people. Maybe she just didn't like what she'd see. She was so worried about how she looked to people, she just assumed that she wasn't worth people seeing.

"Have you tried talking to her?"

I nodded. "Never turned out well. She never listens to a word I say to her."

Kitty laughed at this. "Really? Is that what you think?" She couldn't seem to stop laughing. "She listens. I've seen her when you two are around each other. She listens to everything."

"Who are you talking about?" Asked Rouge, accompanied as usual by her purple-haired friend.

"Leanna," Kitty replied.

"Her name is Annie," I corrected, but to no avail.

Rouge gave a shrug in response to her friend's puzzled look. "New girl at the Xavier Institute." They then headed for the girl's locker room. I guess gym had ended.

"So, Kitty…?" I asked. She looked up again. "You think she listens…?"

Kitty nodded. "When someone doesn't talk much, they listen to everything."

It made sense. "Every time I talk to her she never seem to want to believe it, though. She always gives this little smile, like she's sorry for herself, and tells me that she wants it to be true. She always says she wants it to be true."

"Wants 'it' to be true?" Kitty quoted in confusion. "What do you tell her?"

I gave a nervous smile. "I, uh… Tell her she's beautiful the way she is." I could feel my face flush. Talking about Annie wasn't as therapeutic as I first anticipated. "She wants what she thinks she never had. But what she _really_ never had is confidence in herself! That's what Annie really needs."

I heard someone behind me laugh. Turning around, I saw Lance, both snickering and getting rather close to Kitty. "Annie? Annie DeLuca? Is that who you're talking about?" he asked me. I nodded. "She's alright, I guess. Not what I'd call pretty, but she's not terrible." He snickered again, as if the thought of her was funny to him.

I wanted to punch his face in.

That wasn't right. He couldn't say that about her, she wasn't "just alright", or "not terrible". Annie was beautiful, she wasn't fake. She was herself, and no matter how shy of that she was, even if she tried so hard to hide herself, Annie Sara DeLuca was real.

chorus..

There was this balcony outside my room at the Institute that I'd go to, to clear my head or just have some peace and quiet (which was never really peaceful or quiet). Everyone was pretty aware that they could find me there , but what people didn't expect was to find Annie there.

"Oh, hi," she whispered. "Sorry, but I just…" She trailed off, looking away from me. Hiding again. I hate it when she does that, Annie has nothing to hide.

"Don't."

"What…?" she asked, still quiet, still scared. Slowly, Annie turned back towards me.

I stepped a bit closer to her. "Annie, don't be shy," I whispered to her. "You have nothing to hide."

"But I do," she said. "I have so much to hide, Kurt."

I shook my head. "But not what you think."

She turned around again. Looking out to the water, there was a difference in the way she was acting now. She seemed a little anxious. There was a look of panic in her eyes, and the way her grip tightened on the railing, I almost thought she was going to vault herself over it and dive.

I put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her away from the rail. "Annie. Annie, don't even think about it. You can't just die, you have no reason for it!" She wanted to pull away from me, I could tell, but instead she just stepped back from the rail further, a silent understanding. I let her go.

"But… I," she whispered, putting a hand to her face.

"Looks? You're still caught up on looks, Annie? Looks don't make the world go 'round, but it comes around. Doesn't it?" I asked. She nodded. Her eyes glassing over, she tried to hide again. "Please, don't cry, Annie," I whispered. I wanted to reach out to her, to comfort her and try and make her feel better. I wanted to show her all my secrets to make her see she wasn't alone, and that she had nothing to hide here. I wanted to show her I had blue skin and three fingers. But I knew I had to stop myself. I would always have to stop myself, because I could screw things up for her, and me, so quickly.

I would have to stop myself from telling her just how beautiful she was.

verse two..

"So how'd it go last night?" Rouge asked over breakfast. I gave a groggy sort of choking noise in response. It was too early for explanations. Besides, I didn't even know how she found out about what went on between me and Annie. "That bad?"

"Rouge, can we talk later? She's-" I tried to argue, but stopped short when Annie walked into the room. She noticed all the people, and nearly turned right back around and left. Nervously, though, she walked into the room and poked around for food. "She's right there."

"Talk to her, Kurt. Fix things."

I didn't know if I could tell her, though. I didn't know how it would turn out if I told Annie everything. I'd tried, but I just couldn't find a way to make her see without her own self-esteem issues fogging up the truth. I couldn't make her see that she wasn't what she thought she was, I couldn't make her stop hiding. And I sure as hell didn't know how to tell her that she didn't need to find her beauty. That she didn't need to find a way to show me.

I looked back over to Annie, seeing she'd sat down on the counter. She had cut herself off from the world. Annie had been so introverted that she'd shoved everyone away. She was suffocating, choking herself from it, and we all could see it. So why wouldn't anyone reach out to her? She was dying inside.

"I don't know how, Rouge. I don't know how to fix things with her. I don't know how they even broke."

"Well," Rouge started, getting slightly annoyed with me. "I know when I'm upset I want someone there for me, someone who knows what I'm going through to listen and be there. I just need someone to notice I'm not okay." I nodded. Rouge continued, "Maybe she's the same way. Maybe Annie just needs someone to scream her name for her, to notice her."

"Yeah…" I whispered, thinking it through. That could work. That might work. "Yeah! Thanks, Rouge!" I replied. Smile on my face, I left the room.

chorus/break..

The bell rang over the chaos of Bayville High's student body. A few weeks had passed since Rouge gave me her advice. Everyone started rushing to get to classes, but somehow in the throng of people I spotted Annie. She was headed out of the counselor's office. A wave of concern rushed through me, and I headed towards her. Almost immediately I noticed her reddened eyes.

"Annie!" I said, getting her attention. "Annie, are you okay?"

She nodded. "I had to pick up my schedule, that's all." She gave a quiet sniffle, then wiped at her eyes. "Do you know where Mr. Riley's history class is?" she asked.

"Yeah, he's actually where I'm supposed to be. Come on, I'll show you where to go," I told her. She smiled. I couldn't breathe. Taking a left around the next corner, I opened the second door for her, Mr. Riley's classroom.

"Ah, there's our new student. And Kurt, was there a reason you're late?" asked the balding teacher that stood on the other side of the door.

"He was showing me where the classroom was. I'm sorry," Annie said, her voice quiet. "I'm sorry."

Mr. Riley nodded, accepting her word. "Class, this is Leanna DeLuca, Leanna, these are your classmates. Now, if you'll find a seat, we'll get started."

"Um, actually I go by Annie. Not Leanna. I…" Annie corrected, as she walked towards an empty seat in the third row of seats.

I couldn't focus on what Mr. Riley was saying. It was probably really important, too, like the next test date. But I was distracted by Annie. I just couldn't stop watching. It was like I couldn't get enough of her. I'd heard a student in the orchestra tell her boyfriend during lunch that he was the one song left in her symphony, and that was kind of how I thought of Annie.

Like she was made for me.

I just wished that every time I looked at her, I didn't see her frown. That I never saw tears running down her freckled cheeks, and that I stopped seeing her hiding. I wanted to see her smiling, out talking with people, and laughing. How much I'd give to see her laughing.

"Kurt?"

I wished that wasn't so shy, and that she would start feeling alive. I wanted her to remember that looks weren't everything, and the world kept turning whether she looked like the girls in magazines or not.

"Kurt!"

I started thinking about all the times she'd hidden herself, and how many times I'd found her. The times she had _let_ me find her. And only me. I remembered every time she was crying, and how she always came to my balcony. I remembered all those nights we sat out there, the times we talked, and times we just sat in each other's company.

"Mr. Wagner!" Mr. Riley shouted. I snapped back to the classroom, where we were thinking about the history of this country, not the history of me and Annie. "Care to pay attention?"

The class giggled. I slid down in my seat. I couldn't bring myself to say anything, and thankfully Mr. Riley gave a sigh and walked back to the front of the room.

Annie turned around in her seat and looked back at me. I quickly looked away, not wanting her to catch me staring. I felt a blush creep across my face, making me even _more_ embarrassed. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw her turn back to the front with bright red cheeks, and the tiniest glimmer of a smile.

The bell rang again. I stood quickly, gathered my stuff and rushed out of the room. It was a free period, scheduled by Professor Xavier, for all of us mutants at the Institute. I rushed out onto the schools front steps and sat down, hiding my face in my hands. I felt stupid, and I didn't even know why.

"Kurt?"

I jumped at the sound of her voice. "H-Hi, Annie."

"Kurt, what's wrong?" she asked, sitting beside me. I shook my head. Even _I_ didn't know. "Please," she whispered.

"I don't know, Annie! I just… don't know."

"So this is what you feel like all the time," she whispered. "Being shut out when you try to help? Watching someone hide all the time?" she asked me.

I looked up at her. "What?"

"You won't talk to me, like I wouldn't talk to you."

"Annie…" I tried, but realized she was right. Tears were starting up again in her eyes. "Annie, please don't cry," I pleaded, putting a hand on her shoulder. She bit her lower lip, closing her eyes tightly. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Annie…" I whispered. I reached up to her face, wiping tears off her cheeks.

I was so used to stopping myself, of being scared like she had been.

"Annie," I started, putting a hand under her chin, tilting her head up so she couldn't try and hide again. I brushed stray blonde hairs from her face. "You are beautiful."

She blushed, and tried to turn her head away. Moving my hand from her chin to her cheek, I turned it back. "You are beautiful," I repeated.

Her eyes glassed over again, tears rolling down her cheeks. But this time for a very different reason. She smiled brightly, blushing an even brighter red. Annie leaned into me, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug, her face buried in my shoulder. I hugged her back, holding her as close to me as I could. "Annie," I whispered into her hair. "You are beautiful."

I pulled away from her though, and let her wipe her eyes. "Kurt…" she started to say, but the rest trailed off. I put a hand gently back on her cheek and kissed her.

Because I was tired of stopping myself. I was tired of always stopping myself.

Because she was beautiful.

Because there was a girl named Annie, and she had a very pretty face. And that girl was the best thing that had ever happened to me.

And she kissed me back.

author's note..

_Okay. So, that took three days to write, and I hope you guys like it! I'm definetley proud of the way this turned out. It's the only song-fic I ever finished. Haha._


End file.
